Jack Stauber (born April 6, 1996)[2] is an American musician, animator, and internet personality[3] based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] He is widely known for his VHS-aesthetic live-action, stop motion, and computer animated music videos, which have been featured in internet memes.
Jack Stauber | ||||||||||
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| Born | April 6, 1996 | |||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh | |||||||||
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| Musical career | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Jack Stauber's Micropop | |||||||||
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||
| Labels | Plopscotch Records | |||||||||
| Website | jackstauber | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2013–present | |||||||||
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| Subscribers | 3.07 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 431 million[1] | |||||||||
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Last updated: 8 May 2024 | ||||||||||
Stauber has released the albums Finite Form (2013), Viator (2015), Pop Food (2017), and HiLo (2018). The first two tracks of Pop Food, "Buttercup" and "Oh Klahoma," went viral on TikTok. In 2020, he won the Shorty Award for Best in Weird.
Career
editStauber majored in marketing and minored in studio arts[4] at the University of Pittsburgh.[5] Stauber fronted the band Joose.[3][6] While he was a college senior, he joined the band Zaki as its lead singer; the band released a self-titled album in 2018.[7]
Stauber's song, "Buttercup", is the opening song released on his 2017 album Pop Food. The song, along with remixes and covers of it, became a popular internet meme, especially on TikTok,[8] which contributed substantially to its success. The song has 425 million Spotify streams as of July 2024. The song has been described as "bubbly, dramatic pop with Panda Bear-esque vocals.".[9] "Oh Klahoma", the second track from Pop Food, also became popular. The song is used as background music in a TikTok trend called #ghostphotoshoot, where creators dress up as ghosts and take photos of themselves, sometimes wearing sunglasses and other fashion accessories.[10][8]
Stauber also publishes under the name "Jack Stauber's Micropop", releasing extended versions of short songs found on his YouTube channel.[11] Under the Micropop name, Stauber has released six EPs and one compilation album, along with two soundtracks for his works with Adult Swim.[12]
Adult Swim
editThe first short Stauber created for Adult Swim was called "Wishing Apple," a short released on July 3, 2018 on the Adult Swim YouTube channel.[12][13]
The next was "Valentine's Day is Not for the Lonely," which premiered on Off The Air's season eight episode "Love" on August 28, 2018.[12] The short was released earlier, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2018.[14]
The surrealist musical comedy "SHOP: A Pop Opera" premiered on Adult Swim in March 2019. The series utilizes mixed media, incorporated clay animation, music, and VHS-like filters.[15] The six-part series aired each episode at midnight from March 4 to March 9.
A short surrealist musical psychological horror film, entitled "Jack Stauber's OPAL", premiered on October 30, 2020.[15][12] The same day, OPAL was also released on the Adult Swim YouTube channel.[16] Stauber also received help from the producers at Williams Street for the creation of OPAL. The film utilizes stop-motion, 3D-animated, and live action segments.[17][18]
Style
edit
I get playful with the words but they’re always chosen very carefully. They all make perfect sense. I wouldn’t sing something if it didn’t.
Jack Stauber, interview from NewRetroWave[2]
Meg Fair of Pittsburgh City Paper highlighted Stauber's knack of "pulling unrelated sounds and influences into [his] music, throwing them into a bowl and tossing them into a strange salad that challenges your musical taste buds."[19] Jenna Minnig of PennState CommMedia compared Stauber's voice and hypnagogic pop style to Ariel Pink's, but said it was reductionary to compare the two.[5] Knoxville News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell described Stauber's music videos as "nostalgic and childlike, but there’s also something disturbingly adult about them, the kind of thing that might have surfaced on Pee-wee's Playhouse back in the day."[11]
Music
editStauber is well known for his hypnagogic pop,[5] avant-pop,[20][2] and synth-pop[21] music. Stauber's unique vocal effects are developed in the shower, and are inspired by Donovan's song "Hurdy Gurdy Man".[2] Stauber collects objects to create sounds to use in songs, and has a drawer filled with "various noise-makers" he has collected.[2]
Artists that have expressed admiration for Stauber's music include indie singer-songwriter Sidney Gish[22] and model Paris Jackson.[23][24]
Videos
editStauber's videos utilize a mixture of different types of media, such as traditional animation, 3D computer animation, claymation,[11] and live action. Almost all voices in these videos are done by Stauber himself.[2] His videos are usually separated into three styles: "surreal", characters with odd and striking facial expressions and frequently part of his claymations, "colorful", which are usually featured in his VHS animations and music videos, and "Stauber faces", light-skinned characters with cartoon noses.[12]
To create his animations, Stauber uses Microsoft Paint for the drawings. He then sequences the frames in Adobe Premiere Pro, and then runs the finished video through a VHS tape.[2]
Teeth are often referenced in Stauber's music and videos. Teeth featured in Stauber's videos are most often fake, these false teeth being created using resin, though he has also sometimes used actual teeth in his work.[12]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Organization | Award | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Shorty Awards | Creative & Media: Best in Weird | Jack Stauber | Won | [21] |
Discography
editAs Jack Stauber
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Finite Form[25] |
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| Viator[6] |
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| Pop Food[25][9] |
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| HiLo[19][3][26] |
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Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Reviator[27][note 1] |
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Singles
edit| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Help You" | 2012 | Non-album singles |
| "Axis of Dam" | ||
| "Lines" | ||
| "Summer Sickness" | ||
| "Left" | ||
| "Times" | ||
| "Juana Maria" | 2013 | |
| "Christ Potion" | 2015 | Viator |
| "Grins Hells" | Non-album singles | |
| "Tenderly" | 2017 | |
| "Oh Klahoma" | Pop Food | |
| "Dead Weight"[note 2] | 2018 | HiLo |
| "Gettin' My Mom On"[note 2] |
Jack Stauber's Micropop
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Micropop |
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| Shop: A Pop Opera |
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| Jack Stauber's OPAL (Original Soundtrack) |
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Singles and EPs
edit| Title | Details |
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| Inchman / Two Time |
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| Cheeseburger Family / Fighter |
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| The Ballad of Hamantha / Today Today / Al Dente |
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| Baby Hotline / Tea Errors |
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| Deploy / Those Eggs Aren't Dippy / Out the Ox |
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| Dinner Is Not Over / There's Something Happening / Keyman / Cupid |
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Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "About JackStauber". YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zistler, Andrew (July 20, 2018). "An Interview With Jack Stauber". NewRetroWave. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c Sabella, Roman (April 11, 2018). "Jack Stauber to Release Third Solo Album HiLo at Basement Transmissions". Erie Reader. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Glitz, Henry (April 13, 2017). "Jack Stauber". Pitt News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c Minnig, Jenna (April 18, 2018). "Jack Stauber - HiLo Album Review". commmedia.psu.edu. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Warren, Nick (January 1, 2020). "Ten Local Picks from the 2010s". Erie Reader. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Connor, Sarah (March 13, 2018). "Zaki defies genre in debut of self-titled album". The Pitt News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ a b Serra, Maria (November 5, 2020). "10 artists you've heard on TikTok who you actually need to listen to". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Fair, Meg (April 12, 2017). "New Releases - Jack Stauber's Pop Food". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Ainsworth, Harry (September 24, 2020). "Seriously, why is everyone dressing up as ghosts on TikTok right now?". The Tab. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c Campbell, Chuck (December 13, 2019). "The Weeknd grows, despite odd timing". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Grutter, Felipe (March 3, 2021). "Conheça o bizarro mundo de Jack Stauber, rei do Micropop e animador do Adult Swim". Rolling Stone (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Stauber, Jack (July 3, 2018). "Wishing Apple | adult swim smalls". YouTube. Jack Stauber. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Stauber, Jack (February 14, 2018). "Valentine's Day is Not for the Lonely". YouTube. Jack Stauber. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Keeley, Matt (March 11, 2019). "'Shop: A Pop Opera' Is Tops, Full of Bops, and You Should Watch Chop-Chop". Kittysneezes. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Stauber, Jack (October 31, 2020). "Jack Stauber's OPAL | adult swim smalls". YouTube. Adult Swim. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (October 28, 2020). "Adult Swim Scares Up Halloween Marathon". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ^ Field, Matthew (November 14, 2020). "'Opal' is a unique, surreal animation". Go! & Express. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Fair, Meg (April 25, 2018). "Jack Stauber releases absurdist pop-record HiLo". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Fair, Meg (February 14, 2018). "Critics' Pick: Spish's Love Dungeon". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "jackstauber - Weird - The Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Connolly, Mikayla (November 19, 2020). "Sidney Gish Impresses Horn @ Home With Unique Sound". The Kenyon Collegian. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Nur Pervan, Melek (November 19, 2020). "Michael Jackson Daughter Paris Explains The Meaning Of Almost Every Single Tattoo On Her Body". Metalhead Zone. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Gursoy, Eren Merdan (August 18, 2020). "Paris Jackson Shows Off Her New Tattoo And Says She Did It Herself". Metalhead Zone. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Warren, Nick (March 29, 2017). "Jack Stauber // Pop Food". Erie Reader. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Warren, Nick (April 25, 2018). "Jack Stauber // HiLo". Erie Reader. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Stauber, Jack (September 18, 2017). "Jack Stauber - Reviator EP". YouTube. Jack Stauber. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.